Wintergreen
by penny4him
Summary: A pregnant, moody Cattie-brie grows increasingly irritated when Drizzt doesn't want her to go for a walk alone on a fine spring day, but are Drizzt's fears justified?
1. Chapter 1

_The recognizable characters appearing in this story are © Wizards of the Coast, Inc., all rights reserved. They are used without permission and for entertainment purposes only. No profit is being made by the author for the writing of this story. No infringement upon nor challenge to the rights of the copyright holders is intended; nor should any be inferred._

 _Translation of any words/phrases in the drow language is included in the footnotes._

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 **Wintergreen**

" _Che_?" Drizzt's sudden, questioning call rang out across the clearing and Cattie-brie jumped, startled. Turning, she saw him at the corner of the house, axe resting atop his shoulder, eyebrow raised. "You're going out?"

It wasn't really a question, she thought, almost feeling Drizzt's eyes skimming over her attire – hooded brown cloak, quiver and bow over her shoulder, and a basket on her arm. His gaze came to rest on her rounded belly, blooming with the promise of their unborn child. "What do you need? I'll fetch it for you."

Cattie-brie sighed and smiled a bit reluctantly as he started toward her. "I don't need anything Drizzt. I just need to get out of the house." The bitterly cold winter had lingered longer than usual this year, and this was the first truly warm spring day. As the days drew nearer to when their child would be born Drizzt had waited on her hand and foot, leaving next to no reason why his wife should even need to venture outdoors, let alone do any kind of work. Day by day it seemed the four walls of their modest home closed in on her until at last she could stand it no longer. "You know...to be outside in the fresh air. Feel the sun. Maybe collect some pussy willow branches to decorate the table." She blushed as though her last reason was silly.

Drizzt nodded reluctantly, enjoying the pretty blush that spread across her cheeks and made her glow. He couldn't deny the desire to be outdoors, and especially on a day like this. The song sparrows were chirping happy little tunes in the trees, the snow was all but melted save for a few stubborn drifts near the treeline, and a few blades of green grass were showing their colors, defiantly reclaiming the ground from the frost-killed browns and yellows that predominated nature's carpet beneath their feet. "I'll come with you." He swung the axe down from his shoulder and leaned it against the house's stout log wall. "I've chopped enough wood for the next fortnight already, and the wood for the cradle is nearly dry."

The mention of the cradle brought a smile to her face but it soon vanished. "Actually I think I'd like to walk alone today," Cattie-brie said carefully, studying his face.

For a moment Drizzt's eyebrows knit and a slight frown creased his mouth. The next moment his expression was neutral, guarded. "I see."

Cattie-brie sighed. "Another time, absolutely. Today I'd like to be alone."

The ranger nodded once. "I understand."

Was it her imagination, or was there pain in those two words?

"However...I cannot allow it," he decided.

"Allow? Drizzt, why on _Toril_ –"

"You know why."

Cattie-brie stared at him for a moment, at a loss for words. He had interrupted her, which surprised her greatly. Perhaps she _had_ hurt him. But still, not _allow_? She narrowed her eyes. "Yer jist sayin' that because I said I don't want ye to come along." As if from a distant place outside of herself she heard the return of her dwarven accent, the tell-tale sign of her frustration, but this time she didn't care.

Drizzt crossed his arms, lavender eyes gleaming. "I'm saying that because it's dangerous, and you carry our child." He reached out to place a hand on her distended abdomen, but Cattie-brie took a step back, defiant.

"Bein' with child don't mean that I can't take care o' meself," she huffed, "and nor do it mean that you can suddenly become like Wulfgar and tell me what I can and cannot do!"

Drizzt's expression was incredulous, hurt and angry, but she turned away from him haughtily and stomped toward the forest path.

Drizzt caught her arm after only two steps.

"What?" she demanded. "Let go!"

He didn't. "There are more than just angry bears coming out of their dens this afternoon," he said cryptically, and if Cattie-brie hadn't been so frustrated she might have realized that he was comparing her to one.

"I'll be fine," she said, nonchalant. "I have my bow."

"You do." He dropped his hand and sighed. "I'm just trying to protect you," he said more quietly.

"You don't need to," Cattie stated flatly and walked away.

Drizzt sighed again and watched her go. He closed his eyes momentarily, pushing aside the torrent of emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. Cattie's comparing him to Wulfgar had stung him, deeply so, and he would not allow her comparison to be justified. _And yet_ , something inside of him protested, there was almost no truth in the comparison. They had adventured together, even fought together for years. And when they had wed he had vowed to protect her. A vow that he had often made to himself in his heart before. The adventures, the battles, the teamwork had continued. He had not made her become someone less than who she was. Deep down he hoped that she had even become something more. Certainly she had in his eyes.

And then they had learned of the child. Drizzt could scarce believe it, with their mixed heritage. He had not allowed himself to hope. Even his tough Cattie-brie had wept tears of joy when the dwarven cleric had made her pronouncement, diagnosing his wife's nausea and fatigue as a new life growing within her. Another life that Drizzt had silently vowed to protect. He shifted his feet in the muddy soil, staring long at the place where his partner had disappeared into the woods. Then he turned suddenly and hastened to the house where he belted on his scimitars with dexterous fingers. Spring was in the air, and the lean and hungry bears would be out of their dens in search of food, as would the trolls and yeti. Cattie-brie was a good shot with the bow, better than good, but he would never forgive himself if he didn't watch over her now, regardless of what she had said. The ranger crossed the clearing with swift, sure strides and followed her trail.

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Drow language:

 _Che =_ "Love." Used as a term of endearment. 

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A/N: _To be continued._ _I hope you enjoy reading about Drizzt and Cattie-brie as much as I enjoy writing them! Please leave a review if you have a moment._


	2. Chapter 2

Cattie-brie meandered through the forest trails, straying from the path that led to the stream in favor of following the robins that flitted through the branches and going where she would, emerging at last in a grassy meadow where the warm sun caressed her face. She sighed deeply, closing her eyes and letting the warmth temporarily wash away any residual unpleasant feelings over her disagreement with Drizzt. "He'll just have to get over it," she told herself, and not for the first time. Still, her stomach twinged a bit guiltily at the memory of the hurt in his eyes when she'd thrown Wulfgar's name at him, but she pushed that away firmly. It was spring, and the evidence of new life all around her convinced her that soon all would be well.

A large patch of wintergreen, faithfully colorful throughout the long winter, now boasted flowers in small white bells hidden among its leaves in the dappled shade of the treeline. Cattie knelt and harvested a few leaves, careful not to disturb the delicate bells. She tore one leaf and inhaled deeply, the tangy scent of the plant sharp and fragrant in her nostrils. The fresh aroma took her back to her childhood, evoking memories of chewing the wintergreen leaves with her dwarven playmates, seeing who could keep the pleasantly strong-tasting leaves in their mouth the longest, as the flavor would eventually turn bitter. Cattie-brie smiled, popping the leaf into her mouth now and chewing. She had almost always won. Her adoptive father was right when he said she was nothing if not stubborn. A good thing too, young Cattie-brie had decided. As the only human child among dwarves, rescued from a band of goblins that had made her an orphan before she was old enough to walk, Cattie-brie had always thought that she had something to prove. Perhaps even more so because her adoptive father, Bruenor Battlehammer, was none other than king of their dwarven clan.

Cattie-brie sucked on the wintergreen, lost in thought, then slowly straightened up, a sudden icy tingle making the hair stand up on the back of her neck. She removed the wintergreen leaf and took a deep breath. It smelled like...bear!

Cattie-brie flung the basket from her arm and whirled, yanking the bow from her shoulder and fumbling for an arrow. There, not ten yards from her, stood a shaggy grizzly bear, watching her with glittering, beady eyes and snuffling. Cattie-brie's heart raced and the blood pounded in her ears. "Go on!" she heard herself yelling, as if from a distance. "Run away!" She nocked an arrow with trembling fingers. "Get gone!"

The bear rose up on its hind legs, squinting at this red-haired creature who threatened it, and roared. Cattie-brie could see its yellowed teeth, the four long fangs made for ripping and tearing, and she could scarce breathe. The bear dropped down to all fours just as Cattie shot, her arrow sailing harmlessly overhead and the ground trembling with the lumbering crash of the bear's weight.

"Help!" she screamed with all the breath she could muster, fitting another arrow and slowly backing away. It took all of her willpower not to turn and run. Something told her that the bear would be on her in an instant if she did. "HELP!"

 _No one will help you_ , her subconscious mocked. _You pushed Drizzt away and now you're on your own._

"Get away!" she choked out, and then much louder "GET AWAY!" Oh Dumothoin, why didn't it run? Cattie-brie drew back on the bowstring, praying desperately for a killing shot as the bear growled again and took a step toward her. If it came any closer she'd be outmatched in an instant, bow or no bow. A crashing noise in the bush behind her startled her and she glanced back despite herself. There was the cub. It gave an answering cry, calling its mother, and she was between them.

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Drizzt had been tracking Cattie swiftly, but as soon as he heard her urgent cries he ran straight to the source of the sound, his keen eyes picking out the easiest path, drow-trained feet no longer silent but desperately fast, Mielikki's name the prayer on his lips with every breath. His scimitars were bared in his hands when he burst into the clearing. Three pairs of startled eyes met his, and for an instant all was frozen. Then the mother bear stood up again, momentarily distracted from Cattie-brie, using its seven-foot height to see him clearly. Drizzt felt small indeed as the bear reared up, but size was of little consequence compared to training and speed, he reminded himself.

Cattie seized the opportunity to side-step, soon clearing a path between the bear and the wandering cub. Her arms were trembling from the strain of holding the bowstring taut for so long.

"Cattie, don't shoot!" Drizzt commanded forcefully, dreading the thought of an injured bear. "Lower the bow. Move slow and quiet. Look small." He kept his eyes on the grizzly as he gave the curt orders. Contrary to his own advice he raised his arms and held them wide, even taking a quick, threatening step toward the cub.

"Drizzt!" Cattie shrieked, his name tearing from her throat as she saw what he was doing.

"Don't speak!" He ordered urgently, his voice deliberately harsh, louder than hers.

The mother bear looked between them, confused. The cub trotted toward her and she roared. _Telling it to stop_ , Cattie surmised.

Drizzt waved his scimitars wildly and caught the grizzly's attention. " _I_ am the threat!" he yelled fiercely. There was an almost-feral light in his eyes.

Cattie didn't know if he was explaining it to her or to the bear. She backed away farther and farther, hunched small and quiet, breath ragged in her throat and a feeling like lead in her stomach. Drizzt would die, and it was all her fault. She raised the bow once more as the bear dropped to the ground and charged Drizzt. He'd forbidden her to shoot, but she'd never forgive herself if she let him die without so much as firing a single arrow.

Drizzt caught the movement out of the corner of his eye. " _Don't shoot_!" he yelled desperately, and this time his voice broke on the last word.

The rough emotion reached Cattie-brie in a way that the stern commands could not.

Drizzt held his ground until the last possible second and then dove out of the way, enchanted anklets lending him impossible speed beyond his elven quickness. The grizzly barreled past him with a swipe of its wicked claws that met empty air.

Drizzt came up from his shoulder roll and immediately backed away, perhaps more quickly than was prudent. The bear looked between him and its bleating cub while the ranger continued to move, making himself less and less of a threat. "Mielikki," he breathed again. What would the bear choose? Either way he was ready. He had to be. The bear swung its great shaggy head back and forth, and Drizzt didn't breathe, every muscle tensed. Then the grizzly turned and trotted toward its cub, calling, and they crashed away through the bushes.

Drizzt waited, listening as the sounds of the bears grew more distant. At last there was only the occasional far-off snapping of a dead branch, birds taking flight safely above their path. Then he was at Cattie-brie's side in an instant, scimitars sheathed, hugging her hard.

She collapsed into his fierce embrace, weeping at her foolishness and at his reckless rescue.

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A/N: _I hope you enjoy reading about Drizzt and Cattie-brie as much as I enjoy writing them! Please leave a review if you have a moment._


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